Hornburg said thousands of items were given away. Table space ran out quickly with more than 20 tables filled at the gym and the bleacher area was lined with stuffed animals and dolls of all kinds.

“It was a beautiful experience,” Hornburg said. “It really just warmed my heart to see people coming in and wandering through looking and choosing. It was exactly how I envisioned it. I was so happy.”

Hornburg said that everyone seized the chance to help, with real enthusiasm. Next, she began to look for a venue. Within a week, Jennifer Suppa from the Warren YMCA stepped up to offer the gym as a hosting place.

“The experience was amazing and we are looking forward to it growing next year, making it an annual event,” Suppa said. “We are grateful for the community support with donating new and used toys for the families in our community.”

Pictured is Janaya Rex who was amazed at all the items that filled the gym at the Warren YMCA. Rex helped clean, sort and display items with the adults. She said, “There were a lot of ladies there that helped. Men should help next time since they know how to build stuff. Many of the ladies had to build some of the donations and did the best they could.”

Lisa Clinton made a flyer and requests for volunteers for sorting toys began and the group took on the cause in an enormous way. She said there is no way to thank all the volunteers. Kids donating their items to the cause really helped them learn the spirit of Christmas and how good it feels to give, especially to their own community.

“I was impressed at how many toys we were able to distribute in such a short amount of time,” said volunteer Christi Carson. “The community really showed up and donated a ton of great things! With all of the donations, we were able to streamline the process of making the toys available, while maintaining dignity and compassion. The parents and guardians were truly grateful.”

In the end, more than 130 families and nearly 400 children were helped.

“I think a lot of people were very happy with how everything went! It really helped a lot of people,” said volunteer Jen Egger.

At the end of the time, this table had items that were leftover and donated to the Restore in Youngsville.